You left your native homeland to provide a better life for your family. It was hard to leave your wife and children and your own parents behind when you came to the United States. But you worked hard and found a job. You were able to find a place to live and began sending money home. You were even able to build up a small nest egg.
Now, your most fervent wish is to be able to bring your family here to live with you in Atlanta. But the current presidential administration has made no bones about their wish to end chain migration, the process that allows you to sponsor family members to join you in the United States.
Do you have any recourse?
Under the current laws, once you achieve permanent residency, i.e., have a “green card,” you can sponsor your spouse and unmarried children to come and live with you here in Atlanta. This can be their initial step in the process that one day might include citizenship for your entire family.
This is important because the bonds that husbands and wives share can fray with long distances and lapses of togetherness. You also miss seeing your kids celebrate all the childhood milestones — the baby’s first steps, a child’s first lost tooth or their first day of school. You want to be there for all that, and more.
If you are ready to bring your family with you to your new home, an immigration attorney may be able to help you sort out the complex details.